Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Selena Gomez delights sick kids with festive hospital visit

Selena Gomez spent her Christmas Eve (24Dec16) spreading a little festive joy as she paid a surprise visit to a children's hospital in her native Texas.

The Come and Get It hitmaker stopped by Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth on Saturday (24Dec16) to spend some time with young patients in the Child's Life Zone play area.

During Selena's visit, she also helped a group of around 14 kids decorate cookies for the holiday.

"She was very sweet and amazing with the kids!" a source told E! News. "There were some tears, so it was pretty emotional for some patients.

"She was absolutely wonderful and genuine," the insider continued. "The hospital was so thankful she took time away from her family to visit children who can't be home this Christmas."

Hospital staff also shared a picture of Selena online to thank her for visiting.

"Thank you @selenagomez for stopping by the Child Life Zone this morning to visit with our patients and families who weren't able to be home this Christmas Eve!" read a post on the venue's official Instagram page.

One of the patients Selena hung out with was a girl named Madison, whose mother shared a snap of the 24-year-old hugging her daughter in her hospital bed.

"Selena came to see Madison today!" she wrote in the accompanying caption. "Love that she took time out of her busy schedule to make her day!"

The singer/actress is no stranger to medical centres - she was diagnosed with lupus in 2014 and in recent months, has been candid about her struggles with anxiety and depression, which prompted her to take an indefinite break from her world tour in August (16) to focus on getting well again. She was subsequently reported to have sought treatment at a facility in Tennessee in October (16).

Selena returned to the spotlight in November (16), when she attended the American Music Awards, where she gave an impassioned speech about being "broken" as she accepted the Female Pop/Rock Artist trophy.